Eileen Beth Anasarias

Eileen Beth Esteban de la Merced Anasarias, M.D. The only things bigger than her smile were her heart and her hugs. After a long and courageous fight against congestive heart failure, Eileen Beth Esteban de la Merced Anasarias died January 25, 2013, at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, and went to be with Her Savior. She was born in Manila, Philippines, June 26, 1958, the daughter of Espiridion de Vega de la Merced and Rosita Eugenia Navarro Esteban. She married MCPO Stanley Anasarias (ret.) March 2, 1988 in Manila. She was a graduate of St. Mary College, Quezon City, and received her B.S. degree in biology from the University of the East, Manila. She earned her doctor of medicine (M.D.) degree from the De la Salle University Emilio Auginaldo College of Medicine, Cavite City, in 1983. She completed a rotating internship at Medical Center Manila. She was licensed as a medical doctor by the Philippine Professional Regulation Commission, and practiced general medicine there for three years before joining her husband in the U.S. and starting a family. The greatest achievements in her life were her two children, Sarah Elissa, born June 20, 1990 in San Diego, and Benjamin Joseph ('BJ'), born January 13, 1993 in San Diego. As the wife of a career Navy NCO, Eileen nurtured and guided her family through a variety of assignments in San Diego, Japan, and Great Lakes Naval Base, Illinois, flexing to the needs of her family and those around her. She was a Sunday School teacher and nursery worker at Calvary Baptist Church, and ombudsman for the US Navy, ran an Asian food store and catering business in Illinois, and worked ten years as an administrative assistant in the Clinical Laboratory of the University of California, San Diego Thornton Hospital. She is survived by her husband, children, a sister, Cynthia (Richard) Smith of Quincy, Illinois, two nieces, two nephews, and seven cousins.